Dhaka:The city of Dhaka ranked 28th among the world's most polluted cities on Sunday morning, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 72 recorded at 915 am.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the AQI scale classifies this level of air quality as 'Moderate', which may pose a moderate health concern for a very small number of unusually sensitive individuals, such as those with asthma, heart disease, or older adults.
Addis Ababa in Ethiopia topped the global list of polluted cities with an AQI score of 199, followed by Lahore in Pakistan with 181, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates also with a score of 181.
The AQI standards categorize readings between 101 and 150 as 'unhealthy for sensitive groups', between 151 and 200 as 'unhealthy', between 201 and 300 as 'very unhealthy', while levels above 301 are considered 'hazardous', posing serious health risks.
The AQI provides daily updates on air quality, indicating how clean or polluted the air is and highlighting potential health impacts. In Bangladesh, the AQI is determined based on five major pollutants particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone.
Air pollution has been a longstanding issue for Dhaka, with conditions typically worsening in winter and improving during the monsoon season. The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution is responsible for around seven million deaths globally each year, mainly due to stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections.